‘I always wanted to be a novelist,’ Lyn Yeowart says, ‘but here I am, 62 years old, with just novel number one out … because self-doubt (a long-lasting legacy of my father’s rule by fear, humiliation and oppression) is something I’ve lived with a long time and stopped me writing or, to be more accurate, stopped me presenting my work to anyone.

‘But once I did, an exhilarating journey began, and hopefully won’t stop till I can’t read or write any more.’

Lyn is a professional writer and editor with more than 25 years of experience in writing and editing everything from captions for artworks to speeches for executives. Her debut novel, The Silent Listener, is a gripping psychological thriller set in three timeframes, and is loosely based on events from her childhood in rural Victoria.

In episode 39 of James and Ashley Stay at Home, Lyn discusses living with the legacy of child abuse and revealing it to the world, hardship and isolation in rural Australia, and her main character’s experience with synesthesia.

She also shares why she didn’t feel she could write a novel until later in life, drawing on the Sylvia Plath quote, ‘The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.’

This episode also debuts out new segment #WhatAreYouWearing? And hopefully, based on James’s response, we never feature it again.

Books and authors discussed in this episode:
– The Spiral by Iain Ryan
– Humankind, a Hopeful History by Rutger Bregman
– Utopia for Realists by Rutger Bregman
– How Fiction Works by James Woods
– The Important Things by Audrey Molloy
– The Looming Tower by Lawrence Wright
– Destiny Disrupted: A History of the World Through Islamic Eyes by Tamim Ansary
– One Hundred Years of Dirt by Rick Morton

Listen to episode 39 of James and Ashley Stay at Home here, or on Apple podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or your favourite podcast app, and find out about past episodes here.

And if you’re keen to follow Lyn’s advice, conquer your self-doubt, and connect with your creativity, my online workshop, The Joy of Creative Writing, is happening on Tuesday 5 October. Details here >>